


A Night Stroll

by hithereimsage



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Awkwardness, Hurt/Comfort, Late Night Conversations, Late at Night, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23043607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hithereimsage/pseuds/hithereimsage
Summary: Koujaku and Aoba gets kicked out of Tae's for the night and is forced to stay over at Noiz's place. However, as the night goes on, both Koujaku and Noiz are restless, and so Noiz decides to do something about it.
Relationships: Koujaku/Noiz (DRAMAtical Murder)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	A Night Stroll

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Some of the settings here may not match with the actual DMMD setting. For example: mentions of Noiz’s house will not be equivalent to canon Midorijima.
> 
> (Also, I've noticed some grammatical errors and sorts like that and have tried to fix as much as I could, but please keep in mind I write at very late hours and am human, so please don't mind my mistakes!)

The sun had long ago tucked itself underneath the horizon, and left in its wake a calm, serene night with only the calls of crickets echoing through the quiet abyss of the night. And tucked into the calm air was a small neighborhood, lit up with street lamps and the small lights on front porches that just about every house had. 

Though one house would still have a slight stir of activity in comparison to the other, silent houses, And in that house were three men, each of which found themselves in different scenarios despite staying in about the same sleeping accommodation.

Noiz, the overall owner of the house, hadn’t a wink of sleep at such an hour, despite his eyelids heavy and his body aching to shut down. His arms felt bare and he was feeling awfully lonely in his own bed. And despite all the need for him to finally sleep, his mind only would focus on his one, grave mistake he made that night. 

Okay, so, maybe it hadn’t been the best choice to even allow Koujaku and Aoba to stay at his house for the night in general, but that wasn’t the worse of it all. Besides, he did owe the damned old man a favor, so allowing their company for a night all because they got kicked out by Tae-san wasn’t that bad. Though that was all on Aoba anyway, for not reminding Tae that Koujaku was staying the night.

What’s worse was what was in the room the two men were staying in. Noiz’s bunny plushie, sitting at the nightstand, practically calling for help to Noiz. And he couldn’t stand it, his arms ached to hug the bunny- he couldn’t sleep without it, and no matter how much Noiz denied the fact that he could sleep alone, he couldn’t even close his eyes in peace without hearing the bunny call for him. It was going to drive him nuts if he just let it sit there all night, wallowing in sadness and loneliness with the accompaniment of Aoba and Koujaku. He had to go retrieve it. Besides, Aoba and Koujaku would’ve been asleep by that time anyway, right?

With that thought in mind, Noiz got up, pushing the blanket he had draped over him aside and staring into the black abyss that swallowed his room whole from the lack of moonlight shining through the window. He had gotten black-out shades since he was an overall fan on dark rooms, but it was to his disadvantage now as he attempted to navigate his room floor, keeping in mind the hazard of stepping on the corner of a stray Usagimodoki that may or may not just be in his path to the door.

Successfully traversing a minefield without any casualties, Noiz would turn the knob to his door silently, the only sound being the slight creak of the door as it would open, and the subtle click of the lock- yes, he locks his door at night, it’s something he grew accustomed to doing, and he didn’t want the two bothering his sleep in the morning anyway, because he himself had predicted his bedtime to be a lot later than when the other two would pass out.

The hall had been a shade darker than abysmal black somehow, however, an expert at roaming his own house at night, he walked down the hall with ease, not only mentally, but physically; his feet were light on the ground, the only noise signaling his movement being the slight thrum of his heart beating, but of course, that wasn’t audible to anyone but Noiz himself, so he was quite stealthy as he stalked over to the spare room where Aoba and Koujaku were residing,

The door to their room remained ajar despite the men having been settled down for bed long beforehand. This only brought relief to Noiz, however, as he silently put his hand against the wooden door and silently pushed against it, the door opening wider with no sound in the dead of night. And at first, as Noiz silently observed the room surroundings, everything fell silent, still. Yet, after a moment passed, a limb shifted against the sheets to Noiz’s right, which had his neck instantly turn to the noise’s source. If Noiz had remembered correctly… that had to be where Koujaku was sleeping. Oh, great, his bunny was sitting by the nightstand positioned right next to Koujaku’s bed. What a delight.

Noiz took quiet strides closer to Koujaku’s bed, determined in his stealth skills. However, as he grew closer to such vicinity, the more noises he would hear, whether it was Koujaku’s now almost restless shifting, or sniffs as if he was having trouble breathing or nasal congestion. What was going on…?

Seeing as though Koujaku was most likely facing the opposite way of the door, Noiz still had a couple of more lengthy strides to go before in sight of Koujaku- assuming he’s awake, of course. However, accompanied by the closing distance was the increasing volume of Koujaku, to the extent where it almost sounded as if he was crying. With the constant shifting in his blanket and sniffing and even a hitched breath or two, it had almost confirmed Noiz’s suspicion of so, yet what truly sealed the deal was when Noiz took one last step and into Koujaku’s field of vision. Koujaku froze, and frankly, so did Noiz, as they locked eyes, despite barely seeing anything in the moonlight that streamed through the crack of the curtains. 

At that moment, Noiz surely knew something was up. As in, not a notorious scheme, but Koujaku was actually vulnerably crying, and it had Noiz’s heart aching. Not in a way that he felt feelings for Koujaku, no, that was just genuinely absurd, but he knew how it felt, lying awake at night and crying… plagued by bad memories that arise and can never exit your head once they arise and sprout tears in your eyes and an onslaught of sobs that are uncontrollable as they consume you. Yes, that’s it- the ever-so familiar feeling that just wanted to make Noiz hug Koujaku at that moment and tell him the words he yearned to hear as a child. He had self-control now, though, of course, and refrained from doing so. And instead, Noiz whispered lowly through the thick silence of the night.

“Get up.”

Having yet to break their eye contact, Koujaku sniffs before making a confused humming sound, shifting the slightest bit in the bed.

“Don’t make me repeat myself and wake up Aoba. Get up.” Noiz would sternly repeat himself, standing impatiently before breaking the lock between their eyes and looking elsewhere. Hanging by a hook is Koujaku’s infamous red kimono- oh, great, he sleeps naked? Noiz slightly rolls his eyes in reluctance, acknowledging he needs to wash the sheets later before snatching the kimono and turning back around, where Koujaku had arisen, hair down from his pony tail and his own self seeming a lot more… vulnerable than usual, despite the only feature Noiz could really decipher in the middle of the night was his scarlet eyes, gazing back at him half-asleep but somehow stained with tears. 

Noiz would throw his kimono at him, mumbling, “put it on, get ready to go out.” And without time for Koujaku to question what Noiz was doing, Noiz quickly evacuated the room in a breaths time, leaving Koujaku confused and speechless, but what else was he to do in this situation but comply? Surely he’ll be teased along the way, but hell, it’s the brat anyway, it’s not like… Koujaku will let it get to him…

Back in his own room, Noiz also puts on his typical outfit, readjusting the tie to his own and then refitting some of the pins before sighing, wondering in his mind, ‘why the hell am I doing this?’ Yet facing reality, he knew why; despite their bickering quarrels and clashes in not only personality but commonly everything else, this is one thing Noiz felt personally correlated to, and the least he could do is get Koujaku’s mind off of it. Yeah, sure, Noiz doesn’t like him much, but it’d leave Noiz in a wreck of guilt to leave Koujaku alone in this one. Sure, he doesn’t know why Koujaku is like this, but it’s nonetheless guaranteed to pick at his guilt if he had left it unattended anyway.

He goes out into the hall after changing, seeing Koujaku’s silhouette outline itself in the dark shadows of the corridor. Reaching out a hand to beckon Koujaku to follow, he takes quiet steps to the stairs down to the main floor, his steps quiet and Koujaku’s steps bearing the slightest of a creak in the wood paneling of the floor. 

Craning his head back to look at Koujaku’s own self to assure his presence, Noiz then starts down the stairs, holding onto the wood railing as an aide due to the absence of light, Koujaku following behind using the same notion. Then, putting on their shoes, Noiz then specifically grabbing the house keys, they quickly slink outside the house by cracking open the door subtly and exiting unnecessarily tediously, intent on minimizing their sound, they let the night abyss consume them completely as Noiz closes the door and locks it behind him.

Almost instantly, with their surroundings shifting to the calm, serene outdoors, the atmosphere seemed to gradually become… lighter. Without a word, Noiz looks over at Koujaku and, as if reading Noiz’s mind, Koujaku begins to follow Noiz as he walks slowly down the sidewalk.

The sidewalk is dimly lit, the sparse ground merely being licked with yellow light from the streetlamps that tower above the two men walking below. Their paces seemed to synchronize without hassle as they take a little stroll down the neighborhood, the slightest of a midnight breeze rustling strands of their hair and the cool, refreshing atmosphere leaving a sensation like no other on their skin. 

There was a serene silence that seemed to wash upon the two, the need to talk gone with the tension that was around them beforehand. The only thing that came to mind was the beauty of their surroundings, the subtle sway of the grass, the small glistening of the stars that dotted the sky, the moon that cast a soft light upon the neighborhood… it had all seemed to calm Koujaku down, too, which was an accomplishment. 

After what seemed like aimless wandering, Noiz stops at the split in the road, an area where the road splits as a T and a line of trees block cars from moving forwards. Koujaku assumed the two were gonna turn back then, and his eyes wandered back to the trail they had just wandered, however Noiz nudges Koujaku slightly, his eyes once again beckoning the other to follow before crossing the street, being swallowed by the trees. Of course, as he didn’t have much option, Koujaku followed behind without hesitation. He didn’t quite mind going on such a trip anyway, despite him not knowing his current location or the way around.

The sudden foliage and trees that jut from the ground covered a mild amount of land before another road would appear on the other side, leading to civilization: a couple of corner stores and a road that leads to main street. Noiz would stay in between the buffer of green, glancing back again to reaffirm that Koujaku was following as they would once again walk peacefully. Specks of moonlight filtered through the towering roof of leaves that left cool air, and the quiet whisper of the rustling of leaves could be heard from every direction, only interrupted by the occasional crack of a stick underneath either of the two’s feet or the sound of perhaps an owl, and an occasion car that drove by from either side of them.

Their short, brisk nature walk came to an end after a couple of minutes, the road to the left of them gone and instead replaced with more wildlife as the small shops appear in front of them once they escape the hold of the trees. They find themself in a small parking lot to a small gas station, which sells small goods like snacks and car chargers, because those are clearly the traveling essentials. Further surveillance of their surroundings would be a donut shop across the street, a small post office, and other small shops that lined the streets. This general area, in comparison to Noiz’s neighborhood, had much more illumination via streetlamps, that instead of being hoisted by wood, had iron poles and emitted a brighter light, covering more area as well.

There were barely any other people out that night, despite it being a perfect time to go out- though the clock depicts different ideas. Parked in the parking lot of the gas station were three cars, and a solo car repumping fuel from the gas pump. Noiz, realizing he should have brought some water, decides to head into the store to buy some, forcing Koujaku to accompany him. He had decided the three cars depicted not many people at that time anyway, so he couldn’t be bothered much.

Noiz pushed the small glass door open, a small chime playing as a welcome and an indicator of another customer for the employee team- which, in this current situation, consisted of one single cashier and one person manning the small grill in which they sold freshly grilled burgers. The other customer inside was what really caught his attention, however, as they were the living embodiment of drunk. A soju bottle in hand and the lack of knowledge on how to maintain balance, the female customer in front of them was slurring numbers off her tongue as she attempted to pay for a pack of condoms and another bottle of soju. 

A hiccuping, blushed red mess, the lady would drop her money and bend over, reaching to retrieve her couple of coins before catching sight of Noiz and Koujaku. Or, perhaps, it was more Koujaku who she saw, as she instantly jumped back up with a much too hyper smile plastered on her face, dyed red from the intoxication of alcohol. 

“Koooooujaakuuu-san!” she’d chime, her voice booming in the small space and her voice much too high pitched for anyone’s liking. She’d lurch forward, intending on getting nice and snug against Koujaku, however Noiz, seeing her intent, tried his best not to punch her in the gut and have her hurling all of that alcohol, but instead he forced himself to just do the typical accidental shove to the side. 

Sliding to Koujaku, he’d forcefully nudge her away, mumbling a sarcastic, “Oh, sorry. Didn’t see you there.” The night had started off well, there was no way he was letting a damned woman ruin his night. 

Completely ignoring that the female had fallen on the ground and the fact that Koujaku was stiff as a log, awkward as his eyes flickered back in forth between the lady, who’s face he can’t even depict from the blur of other ladies’ faces, and Noiz, who was getting two bottles of water and seemingly ignoring the lady’s things on the checkout counter, gives the cashier the bottles and cash.

The lady cries out as she fell down, looking up at Koujaku in anticipation, expecting him to help her back up. He doesn’t comply, however, still standing stiff and awkward and fidgeting with a tassel from his kimono.

“Koujaku-san!” she whines, pouting while standing back up, folding her arms. “Why must you be so cold to me? Just like before, when you left me hanging, d’ya remember?”

She pushes Noiz aside flamboyantly as he was receiving the change for his purchase, which merely pisses him off as she grabs the box of condoms with dilated eyes, shaking the box, making sure she has Koujaku’s attention. “This? I’m prepared now, babe~” and she winks, licking her lips. And Noiz, now on the side, is completely disgusted.

“Look, I hate to break it to you,” Noiz would instantly barge in, standing adjacent to Koujaku and linking arms without hesitation. “He’s mine. All mine, whether you like it or not.”

The female looked at Koujaku with a confused expression, asking, “Is this true, Koujaku?” However, once again, Koujaku remained silent, and Noiz took over the conversation once again.

“Look, I never said he agreed to it, but he’s gonna have to anyway.” Noiz would tease matter-of-factly, a malicious glint in his eyes as he stared her down like prey. “Now, get out,” Noiz harshly commanded, smirking to Koujaku after before walking to the cashier again, handing them back the change. With a slight glance over at the female who stood their dumbfounded, he would murmur in a nearly inaudible volume, “here’s extra cash if you can keep this scenario between you and me only.” And after slapping the change on the counter, he takes the water, and then Koujaku’s hand, and leads him outside, yelling “bye, bitch!”, targeted to the damned girl. And as the two walk away from the gas station and back into the homage of the trees, Noiz stops. The tense air seems to have grown again.

Noiz looks at Koujaku for a moment before looking away. He didn’t wanna say anything, he saved Koujaku’s ass in there. However, something was tugging at his throat, giving him the need to say something, let it roll of his tongue and fall from his lips- but he couldn’t even place his finger on what it was anyway. 

There was a moment of silence, a silence filled with anticipation and unlike their serene silence beforehand, this silence had each of them growing the need to break the silence, as if tugging on their consciousness. And so, Koujaku did just that, murmuring, “Hey, Noiz, look, I-”

“I’m sorry,” Noiz stammered, interrupting Koujaku. It was unexpected, but Noiz figured it would’ve been easier to say it before Koujaku brought it up to his attention.

“H-huh?” Koujaku would question, looking up at Noiz with puzzled eyes.

Noiz hadn’t looked in Koujaku’s eyes after they left the gas station. He felt guilty, in a way. “I dunno, okay? I’m sorry for- for touching you without consent. For ruining your reputation, I don’t know.”

Koujaku’s eyes softened at Noiz’s words, and then chuckled softly under his breath. “You actually do have a soft side, don’t you?”

Noiz stiffened, his lips pulling into a frown. “I’m not being soft, it's a thing called actually having manners.”

“Tsch, you never apologize in other situations.”

“Alright, fine, forget I said anything,” Noiz scoffed, shoving his hands in his pockets and continuing to walk.

“Wait! Okay, I wasn’t asking for an apology, I was gonna say-” Koujaku waited until Noiz’s eyes met Koujaku’s once again, the sharp stare of Noiz’s eyes having his breath caught in his throat for a moment longer before his eyes would soften and his next words would grow more sincere. “Thank you.”

Noiz stiffened, blinking slightly at Koujaku’s words. He definitely wasn’t expecting that, out of all things. “Tsch, it’s nothing, don’t think too much of it,” Noiz would just murmur before turning away and back to their small trail. “Just hurry up, we’re almost there.”

Koujaku would just lowly chuckle before executing a soft jog to return by Noiz’s side. And once again, in the abyss of the night, they’d walk slowly, strolling through the foliage, till Noiz would hold out a hand, signaling Koujaku to stop.

They both would pause in their strides as Noiz would peek through the barrier of trees, assuring there were no cars before crossing the street at a hasteful pace. On the other side of where the two crossed would remain another line of trees before breaking into a clearing, or more specifically, a park. 

Creaking in the late night gust of wind, the swings would groan as it would maneuver back and forth, however that was the least of Noiz’s concerns as he found a nice clearing through it all, where the branches of the trees didn’t block the sky and the ground wasn’t bare, cushioned with grass.

Noiz would look down at gaze down at the spot he chose before plopping onto the grass, sadly not having brought a cushion or blanket of some sort to have sat or layed down on. He’d sit on the grass with his knees hugged to his chest, looking up at Koujaku with a gaze that was unreadable, though giving Koujaku the suggestion to join beside him.

Koujaku did such that, letting one of his legs straighten out while bending the other and resting one of his arms on the raised leg, the other supporting his weight against the ground. And at that moment, their surroundings seemed to swallow them. The tranquil dead of night, silence gifted to them only broken by the slight rustle of foliage which danced slowly to the subtle breeze, had seemed to absorb them, leaving the two males feeling as though there was no other presence except them in the world except them at that moment. And though that may be a negative thing with much thought put into it, Koujaku found it comforting to only be caught up in the present; to have his past sweep away as if carried by the small wind, and to have his worries of the future melt and become non-existent. It was just him and Noiz at that moment, and honestly, it didn’t seem that bad.

They sat beside each other in peace and silence for a while before Noiz would abruptly lie down in the grass, his face now peering up to the sky to gaze. Koujaku would look over to Noiz with peaceful eyes, eventually joining in on the notion and resting to look up with his arms raising and his head resting above his hands as his eyes moved up to the sky, clear of branches to block any view. And god, was the sight compelling: a clear night with a moon that, despite being such a contrast in light compared to the abysmal black-blue tint of the night sky, brought upon a calming layer of light that would bathe the world in a soft flow, and stars dotting the sky like a bunch of small ships in the middle of a vast, ink-filled ocean. 

After a prolonged period of time of just the sound of trees rustling in the soft breeze of the night and the slight sound of wildlife that surrounded them calling in the night, Noiz would finally softly utter words in a sharp yet more quiet voice. “This stays between just you and me.”

Koujaku would let out an amused chuckle under his breath, gazing over at Noiz, who’s eyes had yet to avert from the scenic night sky above them. “Why? Embarrassed you’re hanging with someone as ‘lame’ as me?”

Noiz scoffed and his emerald eyes met Koujaku’s ruby’s own, both with a glint of moonlight shown in the sun, giving a perceptual depth that had Koujaku practically entranced by such a marveling sight of such a soothing green. With a return of a humored snuff, Noiz would retort, “I think I’m doing more of a favor for you if anything.”

Koujaku blinked at the response as his mind wandered once again, his thoughts coming back to the reason they were here in the first place. I mean, it was still pretty unclear, Koujaku had been caught at a rather vulnerable moment and Noiz somehow had enough kindness mustered in him to go for a walk in the dead hours to calm his mind. He knew that much, but why..?

“I suppose you’re right. Thanks for that.” Koujaku would reply, his silence after his thanks impending more words that hang from his throat, wanting to be said but refused to slip from his lips.

“It’s… it’s nothing…” Noiz mumbled, his eyes becoming unreadable as he looked back at the sky. It was quite depictable that Noiz too had something wanting to be said, and yet both of them had perhaps been too… tense to say it. Perhaps it just wasn’t in their place, was what they were thinking.

Koujaku predicted he already knew what was the dire thought in Noiz’s head: “Why were you crying?” And truth be told, the answer to that was rather complex, something Koujaku had always struggled to put into words, especially to someone like Noiz. And yet somehow, just the fact that Noiz had done such a notion that seemed so out of character for him had slightly coaxed these emotions and words out of him, it was as if he felt so comfortable enough he could just confess all of his wrongdoings wholeheartedly to Noiz- he felt so… at home at that exact moment, but why…?

“I had a bad dream,” Koujaku blurted out, perhaps by accident, but it was something he needed to get off his chest anyway. Perhaps he was testing his waters with how much he really can confide in Noiz’s kindness at that moment.

Noiz would simply hum in acknowledgement, whether or not he was to add something to his response unclear from the stoic look on his face. However behind his rather emotionless face held conflicting emotions, one of which knew having bad dreams all too well to the point where Noiz grew numb to the subject. It was all too familiar… and he breathed out slowly, his voice barely audible as his lips moved to form the words, “I… you alright?”

The words left Koujaku in shock- the sympathy that had precariously bubbled up in him, though not depicting through his deadpanned voice had definitely had Koujaku in a state of dumbfoundedness, despite it only lasting a few moments in the dead silence that followed Noiz’s grim mumble. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.”

Both of their words floated in the abysmal night as they both exchanged a thorough silence in the presence of the moon. Though so many words were dancing in Noiz’s mind, so many thoughts, statements, questions, he neither wanted to speak up or stay quiet, it was an awfully weird feeling he found uncomfortable and to get it off his chest, he spoke again and tested his luck. “What was it about?”

“Mm-” Koujaku would begin to speak, but pauses as his eyes fall to the ground, mentally distancing himself for a moment. “Well- it’s just about my time away from Midorijima,” Koujaku stated quietly, nodding slowly and refraining to meet Noiz’s jade eyes. 

“Ah… well, if it makes you feel any better-” Noiz murmured, his eyes eventually falling from Koujaku’s dim figure in the night, “You’re not the- only one…”

Koujaku made a confused noise (noiz-), his eyes widening for a moment, yet still staying laser focused to the ground in embarrassment and perhaps tension, despite having yet to spill his emotions.

Noiz made a hitched sound before continuing, his voice growing more hushed with each syllable, “...not the only one… to have dreams of… the past.” Noiz quickly changed the incentive of his words, however, as he rushed to add, “-so, what I mean is- you must have a lot of things on your mind, right?”

Koujaku takes a shaky breath and nods slowly.

Noiz just chuckles slightly, “Well- I’m here to listen if you wanna let it out. 

Koujaku hesitates, feeling at a loss of words. Was this… really the brat he had known..?

Noiz sat up and looked at him once again, his face still stoic as usual. “The night’s still young, younger than you, I have time to wait.”

Koujaku takes a deep sigh before, with a shaky voice and hushed volume, begins to unfold his complex labyrinth of thoughts. 

_It was all an abyss of red, flower petals scattered across the ground and the sickly sweet floral scent floating through the ground. The red was awfully saturated, it seeped into Koujaku’s eyes, it left him feeling red, and no matter how much he shut his eyes, and shut himself out from reality, all there was was red. Red painted the sky and the ground; the world around him was red and red was the substance suffocating him and stopping him from escaping._

_It was all so sudden, one moment he’s trying to escape the consuming blood scarlet that taints him ever so deeply, and then the next moment everything there is nothing but an abysmal black and a bloody sword in Koujaku’s hands._

_Why…_

_And it’s every time, every time he’s stuck in this twisted demented realm, where he can find hope. It’s such a strange aspect, but it merely drives him to even more insanity. His hope, it’s tangible, he can feel it, and every time he moves closer to it, he feels more weighed down. It was as if shackles were attached to his ankles, yet it was dragging him down._

_No, these weren’t shackles- these were hands… hands dragging Koujaku deeper into his despair, his regret- the hands of all those he had slain with the very sword that was in his hands moments ago, which now remained thrown across the space, still holding a glint of light despite no light source being found in the black that swallowed the realm._

_The more Koujaku moves closer to the hope, the more the weight grows unbearable; he grows lethargic, there are tears in his eyes and his jaw is in pain from being clenched for such a sustained time. The hands on his body seem to spread and now leave a burning sensation on his skin, seering him, scorching him, and causing his vision to turn back to red._

_No… no…_

_The hope slowly fades away as Koujaku collapses on the ground due to his legs giving in to the weight, and to the fire burning him alive. And yet, though the presence of any floor wasn’t actually evident, the ground was cold- Koujaku was shivering despite the searing feeling consuming him whole._

_“I-I’m… sorry…”_

By the time Koujaku finishes talking about his past, he’s trembling, trying to hold in his tears as his eyes are closed and his breathing is rapid, ignoring the trauma that flooded his mind and trying to shut down the memories that would play in the back of his mind.

Noiz stayed quiet for a moment longer before speaking softly, in a tone that held more sincerity then Koujaku had ever heard before from the smaller. “Oi, Koujaku. You’re lame, you know that?”

Koujaku would almost let out a choked sob before Noiz continued to speak.

“...but, your past doesn’t define you as lame.” Noiz continues, and then demands, “Look at me.”

Koujaku shakes his head, refusing, but Noiz simply uses his hand to force Koujaku’s chin to look to turn to him, forcing their eyes to meet, distraught crimson meeting sharp jade. 

“You’re lame because you’re the old man I know, not because of your past, not because of the actions you did when you weren’t an old man. It’s only you who holds you to that past, Koujaku. Now, you have the opportunity to fix yourself, to start over again, don’t let the damn rye hoe get to you, got it? Things that happened that are out of your control are not something to dwell over.”

Koujaku stays silent, yet he’s dumbfounded, speechless, barely processing Noiz’s words.

“I’m no good at advice, but you shouldn’t shit yourself over past actions. It doesn’t get you anywhere,” Noiz murmured affirmingly, stating the last line with confidence. 

“N-Noiz…” Koujaku would murmur softly, but Noiz didn’t acknowledge it and continued.

“I’m sure everyone goes through some sort of pain, but what you went through sounds like sure hell. But instead of letting the pain continue till you grow numb… just-” Noiz stopped and turned his head away from Koujaku. “Just- it’s okay to fall victim to things but get the fuck up so no one knows.”

“Noiz,” Koujaku would repeat himself, more assertive with his tone. 

After a moment of refusing to acknowledge Koujaku, Noiz gave in and gave a snuff “What?”.

Koujaku scooted closer to Noiz before wrapping his arms fully around Noiz and hugging him from behind, Noiz stiffening like a boulder at Koujaku’s warmth. It was- warm, comforting- shit. And the “thank you” Koujaku whispered into Noiz’s ear didn’t quite help Noiz; he was being considerate and he let his guard down-

“Oi, w-what the fuck, Kouj-” Noiz stammered, before Koujaku instantly backed away before Noiz gained the strength to push him away, Koujaku murmuring a curse under his breath with what seemed like his hand up to his nose in the dark of the night. Noiz didn’t do much to acknowledge it though, it was dark and Noiz could be wrong. 

Koujaku returned to his spot, turning away while still covering his face. “Sorry- I- it’s just- you seemed like you needed a hug, and I wanted to say thank you-” Koujaku would quickly speak, cowering in embarrassment.

“Me? Need a h-hug-?” Noiz would utter in perhaps shock, but then he turned away as well, flustered, and their backs now faced each other as they wade in an awkward aura. 

“A-alright, well… we should- head back now, don’t you think..?” Koujaku would murmur after two minutes or so, which felt like years passing.

Noiz lets out an amused breath and begins to speak, “The night is-” 

“...still young? Yeah, alright.”

And with that, the two men relaxed against the grass and let the night air swallow them, eventually allowing sleep to wash over them as they rested.

…

The two men woke up the next morning to laughing, particularly… Aoba’s..? Noiz got up almost instantly and his neck craned to the origin of the sound, and his assumption was right, it was indeed Aoba’s, who was looking at a photograph on his coil while laughing with Tae, who was indeed amused as she stood behind Aoba.

“Oi!” Noiz snapped, getting up in a flash. He turned to the lump of matter beside him and it was- a sleeping Koujaku… shit, no, Aoba didn’t take a picture of them sleeping next to each other , did he-?

Aoba looked up dubiously before closing his coil, laughing even more. With her infamous rasp, Tae would speak, “It seems you and Koujaku bonded nicely last night.”

Noiz scoffed and was about to add a snarky remark until Koujaku got up and yawned, stretching his arms and then pausing, looking up at Noiz with confusion, and then following his line of vision to Aoba, suddenly turning red. “O-oh-”

“It isn’t what you think it is! Koujaku was just being a whiny ba-” Noiz retorted, yet stopped as Aoba would laugh again.

“Well, whatever it was, you two seemed to settle it well,” Aoba would chuckle, showing the coil screen to Noiz, and on the screen was a picture of Koujaku and Noiz, as expected- but fuck, they were… cuddling! When the fuck did that happen?

“OI! Get that off of your damn coil Aoba!” Noiz would agitatedly growl, instantly bolting to grab Aoba’s coil and Aoba running away instantly with a laugh, turning off the screen and running in circles. 

“Ren! H-help!” Aoba would half yell, half laugh, running frantically to save a priceless artifact. 

“I will hack into your damn coil if you don’t fucking delete it!” Noiz hissed as he dashed forward and grabbed Aoba’s shoulder and restrained him.

“It’s too late, I grabbed Granny just for her to be witness to all of it!” Aoba teased, trying to escape from Noiz but losing to his strength, instead falling down and trapped by Noiz. 

“Oi! Koujaku! Grab Aoba for me as I delete the picture, will you?” Noiz demanded as he turned to Koujaku, his grip on Aoba unbearingly tight, nails beginning to dig into Aoba’s skin.

“Yeah,” Koujaku nodded and quickly came to hold down Aoba; his hold was softer yet firm, he didn’t need his customers knowing what the hell happened between him and Noiz, though nothing of that sort happened in his memory- not while he was awake at least…

As Noiz operated Aoba’s coil, Koujaku held the arm down firmly, watching the German work the screen of the coil and pulling up the picture…

At the sight of the photo, Koujaku hitched his breath and felt heat spread to his face again, primarily to his nose- “fuck, no no no,” he murmured, hoping to God he wasn’t going to nosebleed at the picture- but fuck, feeling the slightest bit of hot liquid dribble down his nose, one of Koujaku’s arms released to block his own nose and in return allowed Aoba freedom to kick Noiz away, Koujaku being easy to escape from after a loss of his arm.

“Hey!” snapped Noiz as Aoba sprang back up and ran away once again, his laugh returning.

And once again, Noiz went running after Aoba.

Eventually, things had settled down, Aoba agreed to delete the picture knowing Ren had the memory stored anyway, and yet he refused to stop teasing the two about the sight. 

“Well, I left my stuff inside your house, Noiz, so I’d appreciate if you could let me back inside,” Aoba would mention, his smug expression still on his face, which made Noiz clench his jaw to avoid snapping at Aoba and give Aoba a reason to bring up the incident again.

“Right, whatever. Got shit at my house, old man?” Noiz would ask, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible as he glared back at Koujaku.

Koujaku shook his head and almost looked sheepish as he wiped the last bit of blood from the top of his lip before speaking, hiding his blood stained hand behind his back. “No, I have to get ready for work,” Koujaku quickly stated, looking away quickly.

“Right.” Noiz snorted before looking away and beginning to walk away.

Aoba stayed in place, stating, “Well? Aren’t you gonna say goodbye to your boyfriend, Noiz?” 

Noiz stopped in his tracks and turned around, a grim look in his eyes. “He is nothing more than a lame old geezer,” Noiz snarled, grabbing Aoba by the wrist and practically dragging Aoba along with a hasteful pace.

Meanwhile, Koujaku’s face ignited in a furious blush at the mention of Noiz… being a boyfriend? That’s- disgusting… but why the fuck is Koujaku so flustered? He dashed away before Noiz or Aoba could see his embarrassed state, cursing himself and honestly concerned about how much blood he had lost in the past 24 hours.

…

Later in the day, Noiz had been out, noticing a horde of females in the middle of a bustling sidewalk. And as expected, it was the lady killer himself, Koujaku. Noiz was tempted to rush past, remembering Aoba’s sneering and getting agitated once again, but then their eyes meet again, bringing back the strange kindness that sprouted in him last night, and his eyes soften for just a moment. All Noiz allows himself to do, however, is to mouth to Koujaku, “I hope you had a good night.”

Koujaku just smiled in return, and then they both turned away to continue their day, trying to forget what happened but haunted, or perhaps blessed, with the reminder of their small night stroll.


End file.
